John Steinbeck undoubtedly wrote "Burning Bright" under the delusion that he was creating an allegorical drama of Life. It is unpleasant to report that his labor has resulted in a painfully pretentious bit of claptrap.

"Burning Bright" must be an allegory, because it is too long to be a joke. In four scenes Steinbeck has attempted to illustrate a theme adequately handled many times before: that true love is more important than anything else. Evidently he was afraid that his audience would be unable to grasp the subtle complexities of this idea, because it is repeated numerous times during the evening. The last scene serves as a summary to make sure the more uncomprehending members of the audience catch on.

There are four characters in Steinbeck's drama. In Act 1 they are circus performers concerned with the sterility of the hero, Joe Saul, In the second act Steinbeck makes them farmers, and by now wife Barbara Bel Geddes is about to have a child by a youth named Victor. Dramatic irony is carried to an extreme as Joe rants of nothing but "his" child. By the time the third act arrives, the characters are all sea-going folk, and Miss Bel Geddes is flagrantly pregnant.

"Burning Bright" says nothing that has not been said by the Bible, Sidney Howard, and Strindberg, among others. The theme is hackneyed and superficially treated. In an attempt to write poetically, Steinbeck has written an incredible large number of three word sentences, embellished with lengthy metaphors. Whenever a good line turns up, it is immediately obscured by the flow of monosyllables. The result is neither realism nor poetry.

In a four-character drama, each actor is unusually important. To complete the indictment, all four performances are under par, probably due to the fundamental absurdity of the dialogue. Guthrie McClintic's direction is not especially impressive, nor, for that matter, especially evident. "Burning Bright" will not do much to further the professional careers of those in any way responsible for it.